


The Other Side of the Fence

by macbyrne



Category: CW Network RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Inspired by The Walking Dead, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-29
Updated: 2011-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:45:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macbyrne/pseuds/macbyrne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen's having a bad day. Then Jared shows up and saves him. There are zombies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Other Side of the Fence

**Author's Note:**

> The phrase 'Walkers' and some general zombie stuff stolen from AMC's 'The Walking Dead'. If you're not watching that show, you're missing out.
> 
> Huge thanks to tinkabell007 for being a fantastic artist and a joy to work with. Make sure you go check out her Master Art Post: http://tinkabell007.livejournal.com/414844.html.

Jensen was having the worst day of his life. He was also afraid it would be the last day of his life.

He’d been on a supply run when he’d found a pack of Walkers. Well, they’d found him, cornering him between a burnt-out pharmacy and a pet store with broken windows and disturbing blood stains. But he’d been fine, carefully picking them off one by one from a safe distance as they lurched towards him. It was the Walker who that appeared from out of nowhere that had been the problem. Jensen had just blown the brains out of the last Walker when he’d felt teeth tear into upper arm. Not thinking, he’d twisted away, leaving a sizable chunk of his flesh in the Walker’s teeth. When the Walker lunged at him again, jaws gaping, dripping blood, his blood, his reaction had been fuelled by pure adrenalin. He’d pushed the barrel of his pistol between the rotting teeth and pulled the trigger.

The problem was that it was his last bullet and now he didn’t have one left for himself.

So now he out of bullets, the sun was sinking, he had a bleeding bite mark on his right arm and he was trapped in a tiny dirty room with only one exit, a flimsy hollow piece of plywood that would barely keep out a cat. A flimsy piece of plywood that was currently shaking beneath the unhurried blows of the Walker outside, drawn by the smell of Jensen’s dripping blood.

It was a really bad day.

The sound of a gunshot, loud and perfect and followed by the thud of the Walker’s body hitting the ground, should have been a relief. Jensen was just worried that his rescuer wouldn’t have a spare bullet or the necessary ruthlessness to finish him off. He was sure he could feel the virus making its way through his bloodstream already and there was no way in hell he’d become one of those things. He’d take a swan dive off the nearest tall building and splatter his brains all over the sidewalk first.

There was a long silence, broken by a gentle knock on the door. “Anyone alive in there?” a voice asked.

Jensen stood up to answer the door and promptly tripped over the stupid sofa. He was laying on the floor trying to muster the energy to stand when someone broke the door down with one good shove.

“You okay?” his rescuer asked politely.

“I’m blaming blood loss.” Jensen replied slowly. “Blood loss and a shitty fucking day.”

“Okay,” the other man said. “You gonna get up anytime soon?”

“No.” Jensen closed his eyes. He was so damn tired. “Doesn’t really seem to be much point.”

The man hunkered down. “Why’s that?”

“‘Cause I’ll just fall over again when you shoot me. I’m tired. Really tired, man. Just do it, okay? Will you tell the others at the compound what happened? Bring them the supplies I found?”

“I’m not gonna shoot you, man. I don’t even know you. You can bring the supplies yourself.”

Jensen shook his head wearily. “Dude, I’m bit. And we ran out of the anti-virus weeks ago. So, I know we just met but do me a favor and shoot me, please. Or at least lend me your gun and I’ll do it myself.”

The man gave a resigned sigh and stood up. He took his gun in a steady two-handed grip and sighted down the barrel, aiming right at Jensen’s face. “Can I get your name? So I can at least tell your friends who it was I killed?”

“Jensen. Jensen Ackles.” He shut his eyes, wondering if he’d hear the gunshot before the bullet plowed into his skull.

There was a long silence and Jensen finally cracked an eyelid open.

“You’re Jensen Ackles?”

“Yeah, that’s me. You are?”

Jensen watched, a little disappointed as the man tucked his gun into his waistband. “I’m Jared Padalecki. You’ll never believe this, but I’ve been sent here to rescue you.”

***

 

“Seriously? That’s the line you use?”

Jared smiled. “Shut up. And hold still, I’ve been told that this hurts like a mother.”

Jensen braced himself and tried to relax. The bite of the needle in his neck hurt worse than the wound on his arm. He knew in a few minutes the anti-virus flowing through his veins would feel more like molten lava then something that would save his life, but he didn’t care. The welts hadn’t appeared on his arms yet, so they might have gotten the anti-virus into him in time. The incubation period for the virus was dependent on so many factors, including adrenalin reaction and infection site, it was impossible to determine how much time a person had between being bitten and finally succumbing to the virus. Large welts that appeared on the victim’s arms and torso were the last symptom, usually appearing between four and six hours after infection. By that point, even administering the anti-virus wouldn’t save the victim. By the time the welts appeared, it was too late. The only hope the victim had was for a quick merciful death, usually by gunshot.

Jensen clenched his teeth together in an attempt to hold off a scream as the anti-virus burned its way through him. He gripped the cushions of the old sofa, feeling his nails punch through the rotten fabric. He barely felt Jared begin to wash the bite wound with some antiseptic he had pulled out of his bag.

When the first wave of pain receded, Jensen slumped slightly. He was panting and sweating, but he swore he could feel the virus being washed out of him and he wanted to cry in relief.

“How you doing there, Jensen?”

He tried to smile. “Been better, to be honest. But as long as I don’t get worse, I’ll deal.”

“I’ve never seen this stuff in action before. Never had to dose somebody up.”

Jensen raised an eyebrow. “You’re obviously not from Texas.”

Jared grinned. “San Antonio, born and raised.”

“Where’s your accent?”

“In my job, it’s not always the best idea to be easily identifiable. Texas accent stands out, so I learned to hide it.”

“How the hell are you from San Antonio and you’ve never had to dose somebody with a anti-zombie shot?”

Jared sighed. “My family moved out of state a couple of years before the shit hit the fan. Before this little road trip the closest I’d ever been to a zombie was a Night of the Living Dead movie at Halloween.”

“You’re lucky.”

“I know.”

Jared readied the second injection and Jensen again tried to brace himself, already knowing it was pointless.

“Tell me about the compound.”

Jensen smiled a little, grateful for the distraction. “There’s seven of us. We were complete strangers a few months ago but now we’re closer than family. I guess living in a hellhole will do that to you.” He winced as Jared slid the needle into his neck. “Ow, fuck.”

“I know, man. Sorry.”

Jensen closed his eyes as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. The fever had set in quickly. So far, he was a textbook example of someone fighting off the virus. That is, if anyone had written any textbooks about the damn thing, which he doubted. Now he just had to get through the fever and the shakes, the muscle spasms and probably a few hours of vomiting and with a little luck, he’d be right as rain.

Of course, he could also go the other way and in a few hours be ready to eat Jared’s face off.

“Jensen? You okay?”

He nodded. “Just... keep your gun handy, ok?”

“Why?”

“Because we’ll know in a couple of hours if I’m still gonna be me or not. I really don’t want my first act as a member of the walking dead to be killing you, so make sure your gun is close by, okay?”

“Jesus. Okay. Gen never covered any of this in her Zombie Survival Course.”

Jensen cracked an eye open. “Zombie Survival Course?”

Jared used a bottle of water from his pack to dampen a towel, which he pressed against Jensen’s forehead. “Yup. I got a friend on the border patrol. She wouldn’t let me cross ‘til she went through her zombie handbook with me. She’s the one who gave me the anti-virus.”

“Can’t be that good of a friend. Not if she let you come here alone.”

“Gen’s a great friend. When I took this job, I knew I’d need help getting over the border without getting a bullet in my ass. More importantly, I needed a way back. She gets caught, she’s facing a firing squad. So yeah. She’s a great friend.” Jared’s voice was a little terse by the time he finished speaking.

“Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to insult your girl.”

Jared flushed. “No, she’s not my girl. I don’t... I mean... Uh...”

Jensen waved his hand in a ‘spit it out’ gesture.

“Okay, of all the conversations I figured I’d never have in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, this was probably number one on the list. Gen’s not my girl. I’m gay.”

Jensen stared for a moment, his mouth open. Then he laughed. And it was definitely a laugh. It in no way resembled a giggle.

“What?” Jared’s voice was defensive.

“Nothing! Nothing. It’s just...” He laughed again. He could feel the giddiness sweeping over him. It felt like being drunk or stoned. Everything would be funny for the next hour or so, while his temperature climbed higher in an effort to cook the virus out of his system. He just had to hope it didn’t cook his brains at the same time.

“Just what?”

“Just... like you said. Last conversation I expected to have in a zombie apocalypse. Or maybe this is a death bed confession? I dunno. I’m gay too.” And he laughed once more.

Jared laid his hand over Jensen’s. He couldn’t help but notice that Jared’s hand was bigger than his and calloused. It was a nice hand. God, it figured. First halfway decent guy he’d met in months, who was also cute as hell and he was too busy dying of zombie-itis to do anything about it.

“You’re not dying, Jensen. You’re going to be fine.”

“Shit. Did I say all of that out loud?” Jensen asked, mortified.

Jared chuckled. “Oh yeah. Cute as hell, huh?”

Jensen might have blushed but he couldn’t feel it through the glow of the fever.

Smiling, Jared wiped Jensen’s brow again. “Well, I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve kinda got a soft spot for guys with freckles. Especially if they’re running a fever of about one-oh-six.” His tone gentled. “Jensen, you’re gonna be fine.”

Jensen shook his head tiredly. “You don’t know that. The anti-virus does work but not all the time. In about twenty percent of cases, it’s completely useless. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s a lack of testing, maybe it’s the virus mutating. We don’t exactly have a lot of spare scientists around here for research purposes. I’m not out of the woods yet.”

“You’re the gloomiest motherfucker I’ve ever met, did you know that?”

“What?”

“Seriously. The glass isn’t just half-empty with you; it’s been smashed to shit, hasn’t it?”

“I... I don’t know what--”

“Dude, I didn’t even know your name and you were asking me to shoot you. In the face. That’s pretty doom and gloom, don’t you think?”

“I was bit. By a zombie. I think I can be excused for not being all sunshine and rainbows!”

Jared paused for a moment, looking surprised. Then he laughed. “Okay. Good point. But Jensen, you’re going to be fine. I know it. Will you trust me on that?”

Jensen shrugged. “It’s not like I have any better options.”

Jared laughed again. “See? You’re a gloomy motherfucker.”

Jensen opened his mouth to dispute this - he was realistic, not gloomy - when Jared smiled. It was the sweetest smile he’d ever seen on a grown man. “Good thing I like gloomy.”

***

 

“God, I feel gross. I think I’d kill for a shower.”

“You’ve been running a fever for over an hour. Of course you feel gross.”

“Time for the last injection? I wanna get out of here.”

Jared nodded. “Yeah. Then we head for the border. Gen’ll let us through and we can get you back to your family.”

“Why are you doing this, Jared? What’s in it for you?”

Jared began readying the last injection. “I’m a reporter. No one has been able to get the full story on what’s been going on here. The government is completely close-mouthed. They just keep saying ‘It’s classified’ and ‘Measures are being taken’. It’s utter bullshit. An entire city gets walled off and it’s classified? People are shot for trying to get past the blockades and it’s a ‘need-to-know’ basis? What little information did make it out contradicts itself. Some say it’s a virus. Others say it’s a mental issue, that a whole bunch of people just went bug-shit crazy. Some say it’s a fatal disease, others say it’s just temporary.”

Jensen shuddered as Jared injected him with the last needle. “It’s not temporary. And I can promise you it’s not a mental issue.”

Jared nodded. “I know. I’ve seen it now. Hell, I’ve killed one of them.”

“You didn’t kill anybody. It was already dead.”

“But will people believe that? Will they believe that their loved ones are dead when they can see them walking around? I don’t know if I’d believe it, if I hadn’t seen it myself. I’d want to believe that there was hope, that there was a cure. That’s why I came. People need to know the truth. They need to know what’s going on here.” Jared grinned. “Plus, when your mom gave me your picture, I figured you were too cute to be zombie bait.”

Jensen laughed. “You must be desperate for a date, if you’re willing to travel to Zombie Town because of a picture.”

Jared grinned back at him. “Don’t sell yourself short, Ackles. In the picture, you were naked.”

Jensen almost swallowed his tongue. “What!?”

Jared laughed so hard he choked.

“Oh, shut up.”

***

 

They spent the night huddled together against the wall, alternately dozing and listening for approaching Walkers. Jared heard the shuffling steps of a zombie close to dawn and wanted to shoot it, but Jensen told him not to.

“Jared, where there’s one, there’s usually more. I’m out of ammo, you’ve got a gun and two clips. It’s better to save the bullets until we actually need them, in case we run into problems on the way to the compound.”

When morning broke, they headed out together. Jensen was still weak and shaky from the anti-virus but he was fairly certain he wouldn’t become one of the undead. While they walked, Jensen answered Jared’s questions about life post-zombie in a quiet voice, so as not to attract attention.

“We took over one of the old factory buildings. We reinforced the fence and always have someone on look out. It’s not too bad during the day. Zombies aren’t nocturnal, but they don’t seem to wander around as much when the sun is up. They mostly just stay in one area. You can avoid them a little easier. At night though, they roam around a lot more.”

“Are they intelligent?” Jared wanted to know.

Jensen frowned. “Not really. They don’t seem to remember anything, not their family or friends, not that they were once people. All they want is food. Live food.” He watched Jared shiver. “Even basic locks are beyond them, but they can break the door down, if it’s flimsy enough or if there are enough of them.”

“Is it like the movies? Is a head shot the only way to take them out?”

“Pretty much. If you do enough damage to them so that they can’t move they’ll die. My friend Chris likes to run them over with his Hummer.”

Jared laughed but stopped quickly when he looked at Jensen’s face. “Seriously?”

Jensen nodded. “Yeah.”

Jared didn’t ask any more questions after that.

***

 

They made it to the compound without incident. Jensen was almost disappointed. Almost.

Chris and Steve greeted them at the fence. “Any bites, son?” Chris asked, holding his rifle over one shoulder.

“One,” Jensen replied. He pulled his sleeve back to show them. “Over twelve hours ago. I’ve had the anti-virus.”

“We’ve been out for weeks.” Chris’ voice was filled with suspicion.

“It was mine,” Jared said easily.

“And who might you be?” Steve asked in his soft voice.

“He’s a friend. He saved my life.” Jensen said, equally soft. He knew just how volatile Chris was. But then again, who could blame him?

Introductions out of the way, Jared was welcomed into the compound. Welcomed by Steve anyway. Lately, Chris’ idea of a warm welcome was not shooting someone in the face.

Jensen left Jared sitting in the cafeteria, talking with Steve and some of the other residents while Chris kept an eye on everyone from the doorway. Right now he wanted a shower more than he wanted food.

Finally scouring the fever-sweat off, he returned to find Jared scribbling busily in a notebook while Mike and Tom talked at length about their experiences with the zombies.

“So then this one zombie comes running out of the bathroom at me--”

“Well, they don’t really run you know--” Tom interrupted.

“Okay, so it’s more like a fast walk, but I was out of bullets and--”

“Used his last one to shoot a stop sign.” Tom said.

“I did not! Anyway, all I had was a baseball bat, so there I was swinging like Babe Ruth--”

“Like Babe Ruth’s mother--”

“Sometimes I really hate you.”

Jensen watched as Jared tried to bite back his laughter and wished he didn't have to have this conversation.

“Jared, you got some time to talk?” he asked as Tom ran from an irate Mike.

“Sure, Jensen. What’s up?”

Jensen sat down across from Jared and folded his hands on the table top. “When do you want me to drive you to the border?”

Jared glanced up at Jensen’s face. He stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “You’re not coming with me.”

“I can’t, Jared. I want to, believe me. There’s nothing I want more than to leave this place. I’d love to leave this nightmare behind, but it would mean leaving my family behind, too. I’m doubting your friend can smuggle six extra people across the border.”

Jared smiled sadly. “Probably not. I’m not even sure how she was planning to get us across. I just knew she’d find a way. We’re supposed to meet her about a mile from the border crossing this time tomorrow. But I don’t have a way to contact her to let her know about additional people. She’s risking a court martial at the very least for helping me, a firing squad if things go bad. I want to help your people out but I can’t drop a bunch of strangers on her.”

“I know. But I can’t leave them behind.”

Jared stood up and moved around the table, sitting back down so he was right beside Jensen. He placed his hand on the side of Jensen’s face, rubbing his thumb across Jensen’s cheek. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to lean forward and kiss him.

Jared’s lips were soft against his and when Jared nipped at his bottom lip, he opened his mouth, letting Jared guide the kiss, letting him plunder his mouth with his tongue. Jared’s hand slid back into his hair, carding through the damp strands at first and then fisting at the back of his head to hold him steady. And oh God it had been so long since he’d been kissed, since he’d even wanted to be kissed and Jared was so fucking good at it.

Too soon, Jared pulled back, placing one last kiss on Jensen’s nose. “Those damn freckles,” he said, grinning.

“Shut up. I hate them.”

“Naw, they’re awesome.” Jared’s smile dropped off his face abruptly. “Jensen, you know why I can’t stay.”

Jensen nodded.

“Part of me wants to. But people need to know about what’s going on here. You and your friends need people to know. Other survivors in the city. Hell, even the zombies deserve for people to know.”

“I know. Did you get all the information you needed?”

“Oh yeah. When the public knows what’s going on, it’ll force the government into action. They won’t be able to hide this behind walls and silence anymore. After that, who knows?” Jared smiled hopefully. “Maybe we can get together when this is over.”

Jensen took Jared’s hand when he held it out, lacing his fingers with Jared’s. “I’d like that,” he said.

***

 

Jared left the next morning. Jensen wasn’t expecting to miss him. He wasn’t expecting the ache in his throat when he realized he’d probably never see Jared again. Even if Jared was successful in spreading the word about what was going on behind the fences--Jensen had his doubts about that, considering the government’s ability to censor and suppress the truth when they deemed it necessary--there was no guarantee he’d ever be able to return. Hell, there was no guarantee Jensen would still be alive if he did. Being surrounded by flesh-eating zombies did not contribute towards a long life. Just because he’d had the anti-virus didn’t mean he was immune to the virus if he was bitten again.

Jared was right. He was a gloomy motherfucker.

***

 

Jensen went right on being gloomy through patrol and meals that week. He expected his gloomy stretch to last for at least another month or so and planned to indulge it completely. When Katie told him to stop sulking and go shoot something, he ignored her. When Danneel asked if he wanted company on fence patrol, he ignored her, too. He even ignored Mike and Tom’s attempts to cheer him up because he wasn’t depressed, he was gloomy, goddammit!

He ignored everyone and everything until Chris found him in the cafeteria one morning and refused to be ignored.

“Get your ass up, Ackles.”

“Fuck you, Kane. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

“Don’t care. Got something to show you. And if you don’t get moving, I might start shooting just to spite you.”

“What the fuck are you going on about? Shooting what? If you don’t stop wasting ammo, I’m gonna tell Steve on you.”

“Just c’mon.”

Protesting loudly the whole way, Jensen allowed Chris to drag him outside, because it was easier to let Chris do whatever he was going to do and mop up the mess later then argue with him.

Any arguments Jensen might have had died pretty quickly when he walked into the front yard of the compound and found Jared standing there surrounded by duffel bags.

“Jared? What the hell are you doing here?”

Jared shrugged. “I couldn’t let you be gloomy here all by yourself.”

“But... the article?”

“Turned into the paper. My editor is going nuts. It’s already been picked up by the nationals. I called your mom and told her you were okay. Not great, but okay. Told her that I was going back to take care of you, because you clearly couldn’t take care of yourself. She said to tell you that when this is all over, you have to bring me to your parent’s place for dinner.”

Jensen grinned. “I still think this is going really far for a date.”

Jared stepped over to him and cupped Jensen’s cheek in his hand, sliding his fingers back into Jensen’s hair and gripping it firmly in the way Jensen was already thinking of as ‘their’ thing. “To hell with a date, Ackles. For this, I expect sex.” Then Jared’s lips were on his, kissing him, claiming him.

For the first time in a long time, Jensen thought maybe everything was going to be okay.

 

Fin.


End file.
